A.M. Roundup: CSEA approves its contract

Good morning! It’s still soggy in most of the state, but there’s good news today for Gov. Andrew Cuomo: CSEA approved its contract. More details on that during an 11 a.m. press conference, and stories below among these headlines…

Rick writes: The vote was announced just after 11:20 p.m. in a joint statement from union President Danny Donohue and Gov. Andrew Cuomo after a daylong hand count of some 30,000 mailed paper ballots conducted at an undisclosed location in Troy. No vote count was immediately available, but a spokesman said the vote was roughly 60 percent in favor and 40 percent opposed. (TU)

Erik Kriss: It’s a victory for Gov. Cuomo, who had threatened thousands of layoffs if the CSEA rank-and-file rejected the contract he had negotiated with union leaders. (NYP)

Yancey Roy: The vote was also widely seen as a harbinger for Cuomo’s efforts to get other unions to accept givebacks while dealing with a looming budget deficit. (Newsday)

Thomas Kaplan: As he urged workers to do their part in helping the state rein in spending, Mr. Cuomo found himself increasingly at odds with organized labor, a traditional ally for a Democratic chief executive.//No organized campaign emerged among members of the Civil Service Employees Association who were dissatisfied with the contract.//But its passage remained no certainty because of the scope of the proposed cuts. The agreement calls for a freeze on base wages for three years, followed by 2 percent annual raises in the contract’s last two years. The union’s last contract offered 3 percent raises for three years and a 4 percent raise in the final year. (NYT)